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Winter wheels & tyres vs all season?

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Old Sep 15th, 2021, 23:12   #21
Turbodave
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Quote:
Originally Posted by TeamG View Post
I’m loving how this thread is developing. Absolutely no arguments, no “I’m right, you’re wrong”, but lots of little details that sway the discussion in one direction and then the other.
To be fair, there is no right or wrong and likewise there is no "best" tyre as there are so many variables and we all have unique circumstances therefore it is really just opinions but as you say, it's great to have a discussion without it descending into the usual online "pick your side" campaigns.

However, what can be taken from open, honest and civilisation discussions like this are the emerging traits such as some people who live in certain areas favour XX tyre types and certain tyres brands aren't that well received. Interesting that somebody else has passed comment on the Cross Climates in the snow - a great all season tyre but yes, I'd say it wasn't snow / slush biased and I've definitely found they let go much sooner than the Quatracs but then conversely, the Cross Climates are better in the dry / wet.

It really is a bit of a minefield and you can very easily become overwhelmed reading reviews and then analysing the options till the cows come home - something I'm guilty of with many purchases but tyre choice seems particularly difficult if you read in to it. That said, I've also never been in the "a tyre is a tyre" camp or part of the "you don't need winter tyres, you just need to know how to drive" and on that note, I'm sure you could get up Ben Nevis in winter in your Nikes but there are more suited options available... and likewise, you wouldn't run the 100m sprint in your hiking boots.

From experience, full winters haven't blown me away and that's based on a couple of brands (Dunlop and Nkoian) and used extensively mostly in rural East Lothian over untreated roads and their lack of wet weather grip was quite off putting. Summer tyres (Dunlop and Uniroyal) were very good in the dry and in wet weather however a few "moments" with both once the temperatures dropped or the roads became muddy and I switched to all seasons and just find them the best "fit and forget" option given my needs - on which note, it's not just about winter driving as both cars regularly venture into muddy fields and such like and that can be all year round.

Changing them is always a bit of a dilemma... mine are on 6mm and 5mm respectively so given the mileage each does, I should just get another winter from them and maybe on towards the spring but then fitting new all seasons in summer (even in Scotland) does seem a bit pointless to an extent but given the way tyre prices have shot up, I certainly can't justify sticking new ones on ahead of the forthcoming winter but equally, I won't be running them down to 1.6mm... even in summer, simply because I don't like how a tyre with that low tread performs on a water logged road, which again can occur at any time of the year. Being fair, we don't really have seasons any more...
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Old Sep 18th, 2021, 11:45   #22
RollingThunder
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I've been running on Hankook 4KS2s for a while - had the wheels on my old S70 T5 and then put the wheels onto my 850R when I bought that. I'm in Yorkshire, so no extended heavy snowfall, but we do get quite a bit of rain and the occasional heatwave. I'm running 205/55x16s BTW.

I have to say they're a very good tyre in most conditions. In the rain they're awesome - very very impressive, and they feel better than RainSports IMHO, which were the best rain tyre I'd experienced up until then. They are also very good in the cold weather and have noticeably better behaviour (than summer tyres) when the temperature drops below zero. I didn't think I'd be able to tell the difference, but they feel very secure even in (light) snow and on patchy ice. Handling and braking is very reassuring.

Its not all good though, in that you can feel them getting mushy when the temperature rises, especially over 20 degrees - they feel like they're under inflated, and I consciously back off a bit.

I'm currently considering which tyres to fit to my 17in Volans - as good as these Hankooks are, I might go for Goodyear 4 Seasons Gen 3, or the Bridgestone Weather Control A005 this time.

There is a very good all season tyre test here - https://www.tyrereviews.com/Article/...-Tyre-Test.htm Thats about as scientific and repeatable as you'll get.
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Old Oct 17th, 2021, 01:59   #23
Christerart
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Two years ago I put a set of Michelin Cross Climate + on my 2005 XC70 D5 (163) (215/65/R16) @ £400 mounted. Very pleased with them - 14K miles.

Just put on a set of Cross Climate 2:


https://www.tyrereviews.com/Article/...ossClimate.htm


on my 2008 XC70 Lux Polestar 205hp 4C (235/55/R17) @ £583.96 mounted. Not cheap but safety has no price..

It had Falken ZIEX S/TZ-01 M+S when I bought it a year ago (and I've been waiting for the CrossClimate 2 to be available here since then) and the difference with the CrossClimate 2's was immediate. The car feels much more stable and planted on the road.
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Old Oct 17th, 2021, 11:03   #24
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Funnily enough I was watching their latest all season tyre test ( https://www.tyrereviews.com/Article/...-Tyre-Test.htm ) on Friday, and I was amazed at how things have changed since last year.

The new Cross Climate 2 has improved in leaps and bounds, whereas the Bridgestone Evo... not as much. Its a shame that they didn't include the Hankook again this year as I'd like to see how they perform against these - I currently have a set of these fitted and they're very good when the temps start to drop.

So my decision will be between the Goodyear Vector Gen 3 (I have an unexplainable bias towards them lol) and the Michelin Cross Climate 2 now - which is tempered by the effects of climate change that apparently mean we'll be getting less snow and more heavy rainfall.

Having said all of this, if you look at the actual stats and not the ratings, you'll see the top 4 or so are all so close that we probably wouldn't notice the difference in the real world!
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Old Nov 16th, 2021, 18:14   #25
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Getting hold of Michelin Cross Climate 2s (235/50R19) is almost impossible. I managed to get 2 of the last 3 in Kwikfit UK; ATS have none until 6/12. But I did get another 2 via Bathwick Tyres after Protyre sold me tyres they did’t have and I was save by the Bathwick manager calling in a favour with Michelin direct. Happy now 😀
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Old Nov 17th, 2021, 02:41   #26
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On 27/9/21 I bought a pair of Nankang Cross season AW6 tyres online. They were sent from Germany and didn't arrive in UK until 12/10/21.
Fitted by a local garage and very happy with the tyres (I've had Nankangs before). Excellent grip in the snow going up hills etc.
Don't know whether to blame delivery time on Brexit or driver shortage or Covid.
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Old Nov 19th, 2021, 11:21   #27
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I just leave Michelin CrossClimates on all year round. Couple of years ago when we had a load of snow I was driving into work past other cars who were totally stuck no grip to get up shallow inclines, and it's fine in the summer too.
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Old Nov 30th, 2021, 11:40   #28
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Just ordered a set of cross climates, cross climate 2 were out of stock in my size, hopefully get a good couple of years from them
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